The central theme of this story, or at the very least its prominent content, is sexual desire. It’s intertwined into every word in every section on every page. Sex, desire, and the discovering of new experiences. We follow the tale of this young girl, only seventeen, named Louise (or Victorine as she calls herself) as she comes into her own as a young woman learning about herself and the world. A sub-genre I’d categorize this story under is “coming of age,” even though it seems to be a bit more provocative than that. In fact, there is so much sex or sexual intimacies mentioned, it can almost distract from the concept of a “coming of age” story. However, there is still a young girl who is leaning about herself and her autonomy and the importance of different types of relationships.
Though I had to ask myself, why is there so many references to sex in this novel? As I read further, unsure of who the artist in this story was entirely supposed to be (as both the lead man, Edouard and our protagonist Victorine were both artists of some sort), it became increasingly clear halfway through. Edouard is Edouard Manet, the famous painter, and Victorine is Victorine Meurent, his model for his famous work Olympia. The painting features a nude, young redhead with her hair pulled back as she lays on a divan- a maid of color at her feet. What I loved about this story, despite its consistent sexual content, is how well it mirrors the original piece of art. A young, naked woman with red hair lays across a divan. This image is brought up again and again in Paris Red as we see Victorine not only model for Edouard on a divan, but sleep with him on one as well. The story’s tone and lyrical prose is derived from the artwork itself, letting the reader know exactly the type of painting we’re referencing without even having seen it before.